Anexis Matos

I love reading. It’s one of my favorite things to do. It’s not always easy to read, though. Some might have a difficult time reading while others may not enjoy it for one reason or another.

I’ll share my reading journey some other time, but I had a hard time with it at first. I got into reading when I was 13. I got my first computer and had an accessible online library 24 hours a day, seven days a week at my fingertips. The fact that my reading was unsupervised helped a lot. I started with fairy tales, but my tastes have evolved since then.

As I read more, I’ve found little things that have helped me engage with stories in a new way. They’ve also helped me find new ones. Today, I’m sharing my 10 tips for people who want to start reading or haven’t read for some time, but want to get back to it. If you prefer listening, I have a video on my channel which you can find below.

1: School/academiic reading isn’t reading

Don’t misunderstand me. If academic reading is your jam, enjoy it! The whole point is that you like it.

I’m talking about how school forces reading. In my experience, most of what I read in school were classics. Literature classes in college are the same, focusing on stories that don’t necessarily relate to us today. For example, I took a Shakespeare class, but I’ve read this author for so many years. I’ve never really enjoyed his writing. My life hasn’t changed from reading anything written by him. If anything, it was a great way to fall asleep.

I’ve heard stories of people who have hated reading because of school’s insistence on classics. I can tell you clearly the moments when reading feels like a chore. It’s usually for class. Even when I’m reading a bad book to review in my channel or this blog, it doesn’t always feel like a chore because making the video or writing the post is fun. I don’t know about you, but I do like hate reading sometimes. While I mainly have positive experiences, there’s always something I can learn as a writer from bad books and yelling about them makes me happy.

Reading shouldn’t feel like a chore. Reading is meant to be pleasurable. Even educational reading should be pleasurable, especially in your free time. For education, sometimes you have to read things you don’t like, but, in your free time, you shouldn’t be struggling to get through a book if you’re attempting to read for fun. Let’s leave the struggles in school, shall we?

2: Just because it’s not considered literature by some, it doesn’t mean it’s not

The idea of something not being literature irritates me. This is how a lot of forms of literature get a bad rep. It also forces literature into a box. Some readers are shamed for what they read. This is especially true for young adult and fanfiction readers.

The target audience of young adult books are teen readers. Anything teen girls like is frowned upon. This can effectively discourage people from reading. Shouldn’t we just be happy that they’re reading? Shouldn’t we encourage them no matter what they’re reading?

Fanfiction has a similar rep. Again, anything teen girls like is frowned upon. When it comes to fanfiction, things change slightly. Teen girls are writing and consuming stories about things they already enjoy. Some people also take issue with the fact that fanfiction is not well written, but that’s not important for our purposes.

Something not being literature has been said about many different things. I’m sure you’ve heard them. Guess what? None of it is true! Not to me, anyway. Saying that something is not literature is discouraging to readers in my opinion. If you don’t like something, then you don’t, but don’t say it’s not literature and make up arbitrary reasons. I’ve read a lot of young adult literature and fanfiction. I’ve found things I don’t like and, when it comes to any book, I have said so and given my reasons, but I have not made the mistake of saying its not literature.

Let’s not force literature into a box. Reading is not objective. It’s subjective, so let’s read without deciding what is and isn’t literatur.

3: Don’t forget your favorite movies and series

This is great if you’re not too sure what you’re interested in reading. You can always read a lot of books in different genres, but this is definitely one way to find out. There’s a chance that you’ll like reading what you enjoy watching. For example, if you like watching documentaries, you might like reading nonfiction. I love true crime documentaries and enjoy reading about it as well as crime fiction, such as legal thrillers.

I tend to read most of what I enjoy watching. I watch a lot of fantasy and science fiction anime and read a lot of books in these genres. There are very few times when what I watch doesn’t necessarily correllate with what I read, but they’re rare. For example, I love watching drama, but I hate reading it most times. Recently, I got into reading light novels since I watch a lot of anime. So far, I love them.

4: BookTube is your friend

BookTube is a community on YouTube that creates book content. This is a good place to find new books. This is assuming that you’ve found your genre or want to explore others. It can also be both. You may just like the content. It may motivate you to read or get you out of a reading slump.

Content on BookTube varies. Reading vlogs are popular, but my favorite videos are book reviews and recommendations. Let’s say that you’ve found a BookTuber who shares your reading tastes. If they make book recommendations, this is a great way to find new books to read.

5: Reading meets social life

Goodreads is social media made for readers. This is a place where you can follow other readers and authors and see their book reviews. If you have any friends who use the platform, you can send them friend requests. Like in BookTube, you can always find new books by seeing what others are reading, looking at reviews, or getting recommendations based on what you read.

6: Reading meets daily life

Let’s be honest. Chores, commutes, and other daily activities are boring as hell. What about including a book to pass the time? I’ve done this and it definitely makes a difference.

This is where audiobooks come in. You can pop in some headphones or play them on your speakers and still read while you’re doing chores and other boring stuff.

I know there are people that don’t consider audiobooks reading, but I definitely do. At the end of the day, you’re still consuming and decoding the story. Isn’t that what reading technically is? There are people who understand better with audio. By saying that listening to audiobooks isn’t reading, you’re excluding others who enjoy stories as much as you do.

Like literature, reading formats should not be put in a box. I don’t believe in excluding anyone or any form of reading. Physical books, eBooks, audiobooks, and any other type of book is valid.

7: A switch in format can do wonders

Sometimes, I’m not in a reading slump. I’m in the mood to read, but I don’t. It usually means that I want to read, but not in the current format. If you’re in a mood to read but can’t bring yourself to do it, consider a change in format.

When I started reading the Overlord light novels by Kugane Maruyama, I had a hard time with the first volume in the series. I read it in Braille and it took me two months. There’s a lot of exposition and I struggled through it. It didn’t help that I didn’t have the best relationship with exposition. This is a short book, so it theoretically shouldn’t have taken me that long.

Since then, I’ve been listening to the audiobooks. It’s been a lot easier to read Overlord like this. The reason is that reading the light novels is exhausting in Braille due to the amount of exposition. This is the case for me, anyway. The exposition is not bad, but it takes a lot of energy to physically read it.

I had the same issue with A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik. They begin their book with pages of exposition and I reached page 26 before I decided to stop. I got the books on Audible and have finished the series.

The point of changing formats is to make the story easier to read. Sometimes, the current format is not getting you into your current read. Try changing it and see what happens.

8: One book a month is more than enough

Reading shouldn’t be stressful. If you’re just starting to read, one book a month is great. As long as you’re reading, it doesn’t matter how many books you read. One way to make sure you’re getting through a book each month is by joining a book club. It’ll keep you on track since you’ll most likely have discussions at some point.

I’m currently part of a book club and I love it. I’m part of Envision’s College Success Program. If you’re a college student who is blind or visually impaired, this could be a great resource for you. You’ll find the link in my author’s note. They run a book club and usually meet the last Monday of the month.

9: Challenges can be fun

Besides following readers and authors, adding friends, seeing reviews, and getting recommendations, goodreads allows you to create a reading goal every year. This isn’t for everyone, but it may encourage you to read if it works for you because you’ll be completing something. If you’re just starting to read, I recommend a 12 book challenge. That way, you can get through one book a month as discussed in the previous tip. If you want to be more adventurous and challenge yourself, I recommend making your challenge 52 books. This way, you get through one book a week. Remember that reading is meant to be fun. If a challenge is not for you, don’t do it. Instead, use goodreads to keep track of the books you read and, at the end of the year, you can see how many you read.

10: DNF, DNF, DNF

There’s nothing worse than forcing yourself to read a story you’re not enjoying. DNF stands for did not finish. If you’re not enjoying your current book, don’t finish it. Reading is supposed to be fun. No one is holding you accountable to what you read. Why force yourself to finish something you’re not enjoying?

There are books I’ve forced myself to finish. Depending on the circumstances, I’ve enjoyed the journey or hated every part of it. Recently, I read His Until Midnight by Reese Ryan. I forced myself to read it for class purposes, but, if it wasn’t for that, I would not have continued.

I will not force myself to read a book I’m not enjoying. It’s not fun. It won’t bring me any happiness, so there’s no point to reading it.

Conclusion

There’s no reason reading shouldn’t be fun. Hopefully, these tips can help you start to read. Let me know if they do. I hope you enjoy the books you pick up.

Author’s Note

Hey, everyone! Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed today’s post.

This is a little different, but I thought it would be fun to offer tips for something I really enjoy. I read so much, but I also know people who don’t enjoy it. I started enjoying reading when I had access to Bookshare, an accessible online library for people with reading barriers. I had unsupervised reading because my parents never looked into what I was doing. Because of that, I read whatever I wanted in my free time, so, since I was 13, I’ve always had a balance between school books and my books. I continue to have this balance.

If you’re a college student who is blind or visually impaired, here is Envision’s College Success Program’s web site. You can join and be a part of a great community. We meet twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays and you’ll receive emails if you join with reminders for the meetings. They’re very casual and informal. As a member, you’ll also be able to join the book club and connect with a mentor.

Next week, I’ll be reviewing American Gods by Neil Gaiman. I had a great time reading it and definitely want to read more work by this author.

If you haven’t yet, consider subscribing to my channel. I usually release videos on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays at 5:00 AM Eastern Standard Time. That way, you have something to watch when you wake up. To get you started, here’s my Blind Recommends series.